Dora M. Mitchell's Blog, page 2
March 31, 2018
The Right to Remain Silent: A review of “After Zero” by Christina Collins
In Christina Collins’ excellent debut middle grade novel After Zero, 12-year old Elise has figured out the solution: don’t talk. Not just be careful what you say — don’t say anything at all. Elise has been working on lessening her daily spoken-word count for months now, ever since starting public school. The ultimate goal? Zero words spoken. It’s the only way to be sure that she doesn’t embarrass herself, or let slip someone else’s secret, or hurt someone’s feelings. The question is, what happens after Elise gets to zero? She used to think that was when the game would be over. But she’s starting to realize that at some point her silence stopped being her choice, and became something she can’t control. As events in her life spiral rapidly toward disaster, will Elise ever be able to speak up? As a homeschooler and a former quiet kid myself, Elise’s struggle with a specific symptom of anxiety — selective mutism — rings true to me. I remember having days where I wondered if I would ever want to speak again. Staying quiet was a way to hide in plain sight. Christina Collins captures this feeling with delicacy and subtlety. The gradual way Elise’s silence slowly begins to control her, instead of the other way around, unfolds believably. Collins also addresses the misconceptions about mutism, particularly the ideas that it only happens to people who have been through a traumatic incident or suffered abuse, and that only total mutism “counts.” In fact, Elise herself believes both of these things initially. She downplays her own struggle, her own pain, because she doesn’t believe she’s experienced anything that justifies having a problem. She can’t seek help, because what has she been through that’s bad enough for her to deserve it? Middle grade readers will benefit from After Zero‘s gentle message that anxiety and other emotional problems can happen to anyone, even people who haven’t been through anything “that bad.” The story also blends in a touch of magic, which will broaden its appeal to middle grade readers who normally stick to fantasy. This is a moving, heartfelt, and well-paced story that will be especially meaningful to readers who struggle with anxiety.Here’s After Zero on Goodreads — I absolutely recommend adding it to your to-read shelf!
Book Review: After Zero, by Christina Collins.
After Zero, by Christina Collins. Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, September 2018.
We all say things we wish we could take back — the stupid joke no one laughed at, the mispronounced word, the awkward conversation with a crush. They’re the comments that haunt you at night, the ones that replay in your mind’s eye over and over until you feel like your own brain is determined to drive you crazy.
[image error]Well, Elise has figured out the solution: don’t talk. Not just be careful what you say — don’t say anything at all. Elise has been working on lessening her daily spoken-word count for months now, ever since starting public school. The ultimate goal? Zero words spoken. It’s the only way to be sure that she doesn’t embarrass herself, or let slip someone else’s secret, or hurt someone’s feelings.
The question is, what happens after Elise gets to zero? She used to think that was when the game would be over. But she’s starting to realize that at some point her silence stopped being her choice, and became something she can’t control. As events in her life spiral rapidly toward disaster, will Elise ever be able to speak up?
As a homeschooler and a quiet kid myself (uh…I mean, before I did that whole growing-up thing), Elise’s struggle with a specific symptom of anxiety — selective mutism — rings so true to me. I remember having days where I wondered if I would ever want to speak again. Staying quiet was a way to hide in plain sight. Christina Collins captures this feeling with delicacy and subtlety, and it isn’t a topic I’ve seen addressed so directly in middle grade before. It’s so believable, the way Elise’s silence slowly begins to control her, instead of the other way around. I also appreciated how Collins addresses the misconceptions about mutism — particularly the ideas that it only happens to people who have been through a traumatic incident, suffered abuse, etc., and that only total mutism “counts.”
At first Elise herself believes both of these things. She downplays her own struggle, her own pain, because she doesn’t believe she’s experienced anything that justifies having a problem. She can’t seek help, because what has she been through that’s bad enough for her to deserve that much attention? I think many middle grade readers will benefit from After Zero‘s gentle message that anxiety and other emotional problems can happen to anyone, even people who haven’t been through anything “that bad.”
The story also blends in a touch of magic, which will broaden its appeal to middle grade readers who normally stick to fantasy. This is a moving, heartfelt, and well-paced story that will be especially meaningful to readers who struggle with anxiety.
Here’s After Zero on Goodreads — I absolutely recommend adding it to your to-read shelf!
March 12, 2018
It’s here! The Haunted Serpent COVER REVEAL!
It’s finally time– I can show off the cover for The Haunted Serpent! I’ve been waiting FOREVERRRR (okay, several months, anyway):
Ta-da!
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I’m also super excited about the copy my publisher came up with for the jacket flap:
“Spaulding Meriwether just wants to make friends at his new middle school, but sharing his theories about the mysterious grave robberies in town and the giant boa constrictor that lives next door isn’t helping him much…or is it? He finds his crew in cool kid Marietta, her euphonium-playing sister, Lucy, and popular jock Kenny. They soon team up on a mission to prove that the snake didn’t eat its owner, the ghostly Mr. Radzinsky, and that the supposedly abandoned factory on the outskirts of town is actually connected to the empty graves…in some truly frightening ways.
Filled with sketches from Spaulding’s research notebook, The Haunted Serpent is a hilarious and spooky adventure.”
Sounds fun, no? And I think I might even like the back cover better…because it’s got all the review quotes, and they make me feel all giggly ^_^
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Yay!! :D
You can find Haunted Serpent on GoodReads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Indiebound — and if you’re in Plumas County, don’t forget to order it from Barn Owl Books!
March 5, 2018
Haunted Serpent is in Booklist!
Waiting for the reviews to come in has been TERRIFYING, but so far, so good!
You can’t read the full text unless you have a Booklist subscription, but here’s my favorite part: “Mitchell’s well developed kid characters and excellent caricatures (both written and visual) of the evil adult despots make this paranormal read engaging and goosebump inducing.”
Yay! Goosebump inducing, even! I’ve read it soooo many times during the editing process that I honestly had no idea anymore if it even manages to be mildly creepy :)
[image error]Spaulding and Marietta are very excited
For a sneak peek at more of the illustrations, check out the Haunted Serpent page on my website!
January 25, 2018
Book Review! Tiny Infinities, by J.H. Diehl
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
From the jacket: “When Alice’s dad moves out, leaving her with her troubled mother, she does the only thing that feels right: she retreats to her family’s old Renaissance tent in the backyard, determined to live there until her dad comes home. In an attempt to keep at least one part of her summer from changing, Alice focuses on her quest to swim freestyle fast enough to get on her swim team’s record board. But summers contain multitudes, and soon Alice meets an odd new friend, Harriet, whose obsession with the school’s science fair is equal only to her conviction that Alice’s best stroke is backstroke, not freestyle. Most unexpected of all is an unusual babysitting charge, Piper, who is mute—until Alice hears her speak. “
Yes, Alice’s parents are splitting up. Her dad has just moved out to live in his own apartment. And Alice’s mom has been spending most of her time in bed, ever since a car accident left her deeply depressed.
But this isn’t a sad or dark book — rather, it’s profoundly joyful and inspiring, much more concerned with how we heal, change, and grow, rather than wallowing in sadness.
And it’s also laugh-out-loud funny. Alice’s new friend Harriet is an absolute delight, and so is Alice herself. I was hardly able to put this one down — I read it in two days. And unlike many books I read that quickly, I found myself thinking of it — remembering favorite scenes, feeling like the characters were still with me, wondering what they went on to do after the events in the book — for days afterward. I would truly love to spend more time with all of these characters. Each one is well-defined, sharply observed, and entirely believable.
An all-around lovely book that I’d highly recommend to any middle grade readers who enjoy a good character-driven story.
January 9, 2018
The Groke.
Still trying to paint or draw every day! Today’s is a little sketch of a mysterious creature known as the Groke from Tove Jansson’s delightful Moomin books…
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(Created with amazing Photoshop brushes available at http://www.grutbrushes.com!)
December 10, 2017
Stuff from Ye Olde Sketchbooke.
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I’ve been drawing every day most of the time, like every good little artist should, but for the last few months most of it has been for my book or my webcomic — meaning I don’t have a lot I can actually share just yet! But I’m trying to get in the habit of doing more quick one-off sketches, to sort of branch out a bit rather than drawing only the same characters all the time. So these are a couple of silly things I whipped up lately just for ducks (as a certain wacky children’s librarian I know likes to say…isn’t that just the most wacky-children’s-librarian phrase ever?).
[image error]And finally, a sneak preview of this Friday’s Owen’s Uncles. Chapter Two begins![image error]
Catch up on Chapter One at www.owensuncles.com.
November 27, 2017
see, I’m posting again
I’m so totally sticking with my resolution this time!!
*knocks wood, secretly expects not to post again for five years*
Anyway, I finished another quick painting and thought I’d share.
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I’m experimenting with painting in Photoshop more than I used to — I used to only paint traditionally and then do finishing touches digitally. But I’m so sick of dealing with my scanner and trying to color correct so that the digital version looks anything like the original that I’ve decided it makes more sense to just work digitally in the first place.
And I have to say I’m starting to really love it! Nothing will ever replace the unexpected stuff that happens with real watercolor and inks, but with some good custom PS brushes, the stuff you can do is still pretty amazing! (FYI, Grutbrushes.com has super cool, cheap brushes. They actually generate some very natural and random-looking effects that are at least a little bit like inks and watercolors.)
(And no, I’m not shilling, I just really love their brushes! :) )
(but they can definitely pay me for my endorsement in cool custom brushes if they would like to)
(shameless overuse/incorrect use of brackets, just because I can)
November 25, 2017
News and Such.
Wow, why am I so bad about posting regularly? Trick question–I have no idea!
Okay, so as always, I’m resolving to post more faithfully. Here is my current news to get the ball rolling:
Let’s start with a visual aid! Here’s thing I just made: [image error]
I painted it on my beautiful new Surface! I’ve been wanting one for years. I’m still learning all the cool things I can do with it, and it’s basically the love of my life at this point, sorry, husband.
2. Did I, um, you know, ever actually mention that I got a book deal? Well . . . I did! After only six or seven years of seriously working on this goal, I can finally announce that my first middle grade novel, THE HAUNTED SERPENT, will be coming out in June 2018 from Sterling Children’s Books!!!!! (I get to abuse exclamation points for news of this magnitude.)
Here’s the back cover copy:
Spaulding Meriwether, Thedgeroot Middle School’s new resident weirdo and son of questionable TV ghost hunters, just wants to fit in. But after a revenant chases him through the woods, Spaulding suspects there’s something afoot in Thedgeroot. (At least, he thinks it’s a foot. Maybe it was a hand. It’s hard to tell when you’re running away.) Then he notices the chimneys of the abandoned factory at the edge of town puffing smoke–and his dead next-door neighbor materializes, along with David, the missing pet boa constrictor that supposedly ate him. Spaulding can’t help wondering if these strange happenings have anything to do with his undead friends in the forest. Of course, Spaulding just has to investigate–but he may be biting off more than he can chew…
It’s illustrated (by me!) with notes and drawings from Spaulding’s research notebook, along with “found” documents like newspaper clippings, letters, and maps.
I update a bit more faithfully on my Facebook author page, so follow me there if you’d like to keep up with news as it develops! Watch for the cover reveal soon.
And don’t forget — my webcomic, Owen’s Uncles, just may have some hidden connections to HAUNTED SERPENT for the sharp-eyed reader! So start reading about poor young Owen and his mysterious uncles of doom right now, and then you’ll be all set for the terrifying (not really) adventures of Spaulding Meriwether in June!
October 26, 2017
Owen’s Uncles: A webcomic of TERROR
Okay not really. Unless you’re very easily terrified.
But if you’re looking for a fun read appropriate for spooky fall evenings, check out my comic OWEN’S UNCLES! The first page is up today, and I’ll be posting a page a day until Halloween, followed by updates every Friday after that!
Check out the first page below. Then subscribe at www.owensuncles.com so you don’t miss a thing!
P.S. Are there some hidden connections between the strange tale of poor young Owen Harkenwell and the mysterious events documented in my forthcoming novel THE HAUNTED SERPENT (Sterling Children’s, 2018)? I’ll never tell…)
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